Silo.



E. A. BERRY.

SILO.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1, 1912.

Patented July 28, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

my a WITNESSES:

E. A. BERRY.

SILO.

APPLIGATION FILED r3311, 1912.

1,1Q4,866, Patented July 28,1914.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES:

A from/Er nAnLE A.. BERRY, or KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

SILO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 1, 1912. Serial No. 674,776.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, EARLE A. BERRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of J ackson' and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Silos and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, refcrcnce being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. I

My invention relates to silos and has for its principal objects to provide a silo of stave construction having means ,whereby successive staves may be connected and supported while being assembled, to facilitate the buildin of the structure and to hold the parts toget er when their intimate relationshave been altered through exposure or from other cause; to provide improved bracing means for obviating mis-shapement of the structure under the influence of strong winds; to provide an improved door frame having means for bracing the jambs apart, and to provide a removable feed chute which may be applied to the silo or removed therefrom by the user, either while the structure is being erected or afterward. In accomplishing these objects, I have provided the improved details of a structure hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wher'ein:

Figure I is an elevation of a silo constructed according to my invention. Fig. II is a cross-section of same on the line II-II Fig. I, showing the brace rods. Fig. III is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the silo, showing the dowel hoop. Fig. IV is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the silo, a part of the body being broken away to show the dowel hoop. Fig. V is an enlarged detail view of a part of one of the door frame braces, a portion being broken away to show the'connect-ion of'the individual parts. Fig. VI is an enlarged detail view of a part of the frame and ladder, showing the connection of the ladder-with the frame. Fig. VII is an enlarged perspective view of one of the chute sections, showing its mounting.

Referring more in detail to the parts, 1

designates the body of the silo, which is made up of a number of individual staves, 1 having tongue and groove connection to form a tight inclosing structure. In the Patented July 28, 1914.

side of the silo is an opening 2 which. runs from top to bottom and contains a doorframe comprising a pair of upright stave members 3, having sockets 3' therein spaced at intervals throughout its length by brace sections 4, each of which is made up of individual short staves 5, having tongue and groove connection, as in the main structure, and united by dowel pins 6 which extend through transverse bores 7 in the staves. The brace members formed as described are mounted between thedoor-jambs and held permanently in position 'by the ends of dowel pins 7 which project into sockets 9 in the edges of the door j ambs. The spaces between the braces 4 may be closed by doors 10, of any suitable structure, having fastenings by which they may be applied to or removed from the door-frame at will, but preferably provided with elongated handle portions 11, which may serve as rungsof alaldder for use in climbing to the top of the s1 0.

Each of the staves of the body I has a transverse bore 12 near its upper end for containing'a dowel hoop 13, the hoop pref erably comprising a steel rod of slightly less diameter that the bores 12 so that the bore ma be straight through each stave and the rod extend in a curved path therethrough. vI preferably make the dowel hoop in two sections each of which is adapted to extend half way around the silo and project at opposite ends from the jamb and middle staves, so that it can connect with the adjoining jambs and body staves, thereby facilitating the assembling of the silo, as will presently be described. I

I prefer to provide but one of the dowel hoops, but place ordinary hoops 15 around the silo at intervals throughout its height .in order to'holcl the parts together, such hoops bein provided with turnbuckles 16,

by which t ey may be tightened when the structure is erected, and afterward, to take up shrinkage. V

In order to afford access tothe door openings of the silo I place a ladder17in front of the door frame, the rungs 18 of which are arranged above and below the door openings, as shown. I'prefer to attach the rungs of the ladder to the side runners by bolts 19, having nuts 20 on their outer exposed ends, and having hooks 21 on their inner ends adapted to bear against the door jambs. The ladder is placed against the door frame before the hoops 15 are tightened so that the latter may drop into the hooked ends of the ladder bolts and anchor the ladder firmly against the frame. It is apparent that when the hoops aretightened by manipulation of the turnbuckles the ladder is held against the body of the silo and cannot be released except by loosening the body hoops.

When the silo is filled with ensilage of a dry nature the latter must be removed through the door openings for feeding. It is apparent that with a high wind this ensilage would be blown away and lost if thrown through a door opening. I there fore provide a chute through which the ensilage may 'pass directly down the side of the silo'into a wagon, or onto the ground, to obviate loss "by being scattered by the wind. This chute comprises semi-circular sections 22 of stifi' sheet metal, the edges of the sections being turned inwardly to form attaching lips 28, having bolt holes 24: adapted. to register with the ladder bolt holes so that the lips may be projected between the ladder runners and the door-frame, and the hook-bolts for connecting the ladder with the frame be projected through the lip apertures so that when the nuts are tightened on the ladder bolts the chute lips may be clamped between the runners and the frame or between the runners and the ladder rungs. It is apparent that with this construction the chute may be erected in sections, each section being of such diameter that the builder may work within the chute to fasten same to the silo.

It is a well known fact that with the silos of stave construction high winds blowing against one side of the. silo will tend to flatten same to anoval shape, thereby separating the staves and forming cracks through which the ensilage is exposed to the weather. While the ordinary braces tend to'some extent to prevent such mis-shapement, they are not altogether successful, andfor that reason 1 have provided the im- 7 proved brace shown herein, comprising the rods 25 which extend diametrical across the interior of the silo body and have hooks 26 at their ends which connect with the eyes 27 of bolts 28 which extend through staves on opposite sides of the silo. On each of the bolts 28 is a hook 29 having an enlarged washer-like body 30 carried by the bolt and bearing against the side of the silo. Connected with each of the hooks 29 is a guy rod or wire 81 which may be connected with an anchor 82 set a proper distance from the base of the silo. Each of the brace rods nioasee 25 has a turn buckle 33 by which the rod may be tightened or extended as required.

In. assembling the silo, scafloldings are sections is then projected into a socket on one of the jambs and the staves strung thereon, the second hoop section being connected with the last stave strung on the first hoop and the last half of the silo body being strung on that section until when the last stave is in place the projecting end of the hoop is stuck into a socket 3 in the doorjamb. The outside hoops are then arranged in place, the ladder being first raised against the door-frame so that the hoops may drop into the hook-bolts, as hereinafter described. The outside hoops may then be tightened to bring the staves into close relation and the cross braces installed and guyed to the ground. If a chute is to be erected with the silo thesections may be applied to the ladder while the ladder is on the ground, or, if desired, the sections may be applied to the ladder after the ladder is connected with the silo. With this latter plan, the sections must be arranged singly and the nuts removed from the rung bolts so that the lips of the chute may be applied thereto, the nuts being afterward applied to the boltsso that they will bear against the chute lips. The sections of the chute are overlapped on the outer upper edges to prevent rain or snow from entering through the horizontal cracks.

It is apparent that expansion and contraction of the materialcannot destroy a structure of this kind as the interior dowel h op will hold the staves in proper relation even should wide cracks form therebetween,

and by providing sufiicient space in the dowel sockets in the door-jambs the diameter of the silo may be reduced by tightenis little probability of misshapement of the sllo.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters-Patent-is 1. A silo com risin a body member having hoops exten ing t-1erearound, and a ladder comprising runners and rungs, and bolts connecting the rungs with the runners and having hooks at their inner end adapted for receiving the body hoops, substantially as set forth.

2. A silo comprisin a body member, a ladder connected with said body member and having runners, and rungs connected with said. runners by suitable bolts, and a chute 1,1oe,eee a member having edge lips provided with tures adapted to sees over said bolts and apertures adapted to seat over said bolts between the ladder runners and rungs. 10 for the purpose set forth. In testimony whereof I afix my signature 3. A silo comprising a b0dy-member, a in presence of two witnesses. ladder connected with said body member and EARLE A. BERRY. having runners and rungs connected with said Witnesses runners by suitable bolts, and a chute 'mem- LETA E. Come,

her. having edge lips provided with eper- W. A. BUDDQ 

